Container closure



March 4, 1952 c. M. KosTER CONTAINER CLOSURE Filed oct. 9. 1948 R. m m m CURTIS M. KOSTER HIS ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 4, 1952 j UNITED sTATes rm" oFFlcE ,'con'ifanviin` cLosURE Curtis M. Koster, San Francisco, Calif., assignor, by mesne assignments, to Breda, Inc., San l Francisco, Calif., a corporation of California VApplication october 9, 1948,seria1fNa5a65o eciaims. (01.215445) The present invention relates to closuresior 'containers' and moreparticul'arlyto bottleiand jar caps and closures and thelike, and hasfas f its principal object the provision of suchplosures whichV can'quickly and .effectively sealv the ,bot-

AtlecontentsV andwhich .can beutilized for'an indenite numberof times,'.thus permittingfthe bottle to be rresealedv after portions v4of its contents have been removed.

Closures'of this general typefhave .been dis.

closed in the priorart,V butgsuch deviceshave generally been vof the type'in which Va sealing :ring-is mounted directly on Athe cap, and have Ahad numerous disadvantages, vsuch assurfaceexposure 'of moving parts and have Abecome-distorted after'continued use rendering cooperation Vdisadvantages of the prior;l art and provides a ycap Yhaving a readily rotatable inner sealing` member which may be easily applied and removed and which at the same time functions to eiect an eiiicient seal. These results are obtained by providing an outer cap member which may be made of any suitable metal or plastic having the requisite strength 4and an inner member concentric therewith -and rotatable therein which carries a sealing means and which is designed to permit rotary bearing memberslto function simultaneously to open or close means which engage the neck of the bottle while at the same time these bearing means serve Yto facilitate relative rotation between the inner and The invention is described indetail in the ac'- companying drawingsA wherein Fig. 1 is la vertical cross section `taken through the center of a' bottle cap shownin position engaging the top of a bottle.

Fig. 2 isa horizontal cross section through the cap taken along lines 2;-2 of Fig. l.

FigA is a view in VVelevation of the rcap looking .from'the' bottom thereof. Y 'I Y j A Fig. 4 is an elevational exploded :vie'wof the vdisassembled cap. f

Fig. 5 is a view in elevation ofy aV disassembled Kcap showing a modified form of they invention.

Referring to the drawings and describing rst ,the Vform of invention illustrated in Figsjl to 4 Linclusive, and more particularly invconnection Awith therespective elements as illustrated in Fig. l1, reference numeral vl0 represents'the outer cap member which is preferably lcontinuous/in strucvtu're'and'maynbe stampedrfrom sheet metal or moldedr from plastic. vPositioned-within the' cap 'member and concentric therewith isinner member-II which preferably is spaced from: cap 'I0 A'except atpoint I2'wherethe' outer. cap '-is enlgagedby'anaxiallyfdishedrout or protruding portion l3'which-is designed to engaget-he cap and form a center ofA rotationor bearing-'surface Vabout whichfthe inner cap mayrotate. vMember I ly has ai plurality ofy `prongs'l Hll extending Yat right angles thereto fand .whose vfunctioniwill be describedk further below.l A plurality of" channeledclamping members I 5Which are designed to be forced into vengagement Vwith Ytheneck vof the 'closure Aarepreferably provided withribs or ybosses l6vfor the purpose of more: firmly 'engag- 20=A provided at one'end thereofwith aA normally vervdtically channeled portion/H which is designed ing the closure. `Eachchanneledmemberf |5v is to` t' .over and fengage prongs. |45? The nor- `mal1yV horizontal channeled portion 'l'is formed 25.

so that litsopening-faces'theouter'capi vSmall roller bearings I9 vare rprovided and designed'. so a'sto lit within channels I8 and ridertherein between members l5 andthe insidey wall of i the outer Vcap member l0, or thewalls Vof anv internally secured ring y25 'as .referred to below.

'These bearing members `are .held-in place `by spacing members 20 which are vcurved to conform to the curvature ofV theouter cap and are ydesigned tofitv into channels |8. :Each of these spacing members Vhas at one end 'a bent-#over portionk 2|l which is designed toA engage one wall of the vertical channel l1 as shown'at 22. .The

`-other end of eachy spacing member-20 is preferably bent in a curved manner as shown -in V23, with the vbearings I9` being positioned ybetween opposite ends2l Yand'li of respective spacing members.-" n

*Positionediwithin inner member Il is a gasket or sealingmeans 241which may be made of cork or rubber or the like. This is preferably' secured to the bottom portion of Il by means of lan adhesive. 'The entire lassembly is held-in place by a ring member 25 which has an inwardly extending flanged portionfZBand which. is

designed to hold the Vrotatable elements associated with theinner'k member. within outerV cap Ring 25 is compressed yinto tight engagemoving and is also. held in position bylips 21 along the bottom edge of cap llkwhich are bent inward slightly to engage and clamp the inner ring. The wall of the ring engaging the cap may be wide enough to form the inner surface engaged by the bearings, or it may be narrow, in Which case the bearings will engage the inner wall of the cap directly. If desired, the ring may be omitted and the bottom edge of the cap bent inward in order to hold the inner Aelements in place.

When the cap is in open position, Vthat is, before it is first applied to the opening in the bottle or other container, the relative positions of the bearings and clamping members are shown in bottom elevation in Fig. 3. There the bearings I9 are at the end of the channel Which is anchored to prong I4 by engaging vertical channel II and rest against the wall 2i of members 2Q. Clamping members I5 are in a retracted position.

In use the cap is inserted over the neck of the bottle with the gasket material 24 engaging the top of theA bottle as shown at 28 in Fig. l. A

slight amount of pressure is applied and the frictional resistance between the gasket material and the top of the bottle will force inner member I I and its associated parts to remain at rest while the outer cap is rotated. At the same time the Vbearing members I9 are rolled along the track or channel I8 of each member l, to the position shown :in Fig. 2. The channels H of member I5 are designed to have a different curvature from the outer cap so that each channel member will in fact be a cam and will function like a cam surface to force the clamping member together with boss I6 inward to engage the neck of the container as the bearing rolls up the channel.

This can be accomplished .by making the clamping member have a slightly greater curvature tward the end or free portion thereof, or by building up the channel toward its end so that the spacing between the inside of the channel and the outer cap will be progressively decreased toward the end thereof. The bearing is stopped against further circumferential movement, when rigid clamping has occurred, or by engagement of the rolled portion 23 of spacing member 2li with wall 22a of the vertical channel il.

Inassembling the cap, inner member or spider I I is held in a fixed position in a `jig or other suitable device. The four channeled cam members I are now placed in position with channels Il engaging arms I4. Spring-like spacing members are then placed in position and the four bearings IQ are then placed in the channels. Ring 25 is then placed over the spider with its assembled parts and the entire assembly inserted in position in the outer cap. Following this the ring 25 -is clamped into position with outer cap It ina closing die. The gasket is afxed to the interior of the spider by means of cement after assembly.

To recapitulate, when the cap as-shown in Fig. 3 is applied over the neck of Va bottle and rotated in a counterclockwise direction (looking into the open end) or in a clockwise 'direction looking dov/n from the top of the cap, and vertical pressure is simultaneously applied yto force the gasket into engagement, roller bearings i9 ride along the channel I8 and force the .bosses Iii into yfirm engagement with the neck of the bottle thus clamping the gasket material in place. When the cap is to be applied to bottles or the like having a rib or lip around the outer edge of the opening, as shown at 28 in Fig. 1, the clamping members are so designed that the bosses will t just under the lip sov as to give 'rm vertical as Well as horizontal `engagement with the neck of the bottle.

In a preferred form of my invention, inner member II is provided with a depressed portion or ring-like structure 30, which is formed concentric with raised portion I2 and has a diameter somewhat less than the inside of the bottle or other container to be closed. This is for the purpose of permitting the sealing member or gasket to be forced into engagement with the inside edge of the container opening as shown at 3l in addition to the top edge. ln this way, improved sealing is effected.

While the outer cap may be made of plastic, sheet metal, such as sheet steel, is preferable for this as well as 'the other elements of the inner members. The bearings may be of steel or other known bearing material. instead of roller bearings, ball bearings may be used and the channels designed so as to accommodate them.

In the modification of the invention which is illustrated in Fig. 5, inner member II is constructed with clamping members I5 made integral therewith by slotting and stamping from sheet metal with bosses I' formed therein. 'A separate ring member 2Q is provided which ts around and over the clamping members and between the inside walls of outer cap I and the inner member. A plurality of prongs extend inward at right angles to the ring member and are secured thereto. These prongs are short shafts on which roller bearings I9' are mounted, being kept in place by offsetting 'the' ends of the shaft, or otherwise. When the cap is applied to a bottle the outer cap bearing ring 29 and its associated bearings I9 are also rotated, the bearings rolling along prongs I5 toward their free ends thus forcing them inward so that bosses I' will clamp and engage the neck of the bottle. As shown in the drawing, the free ends of the prongs are curved slightly outward to serve as stops for the bearings.

As is readily apparent, the provision of bearings in rolling engagement with the channeled cam members and with the inner surface of the outer cap, permits free relative motion of the outer cap with simultaneous clamping of the cam members against the neck of the container. Thus 'there is no binding and less friction while at the same time enabling the application of substantial pressure in the clamping process.

While the foregoing specification refers t0 specific embodiments of the invention, it is understood that it is intended to comprehend Within the scope of the invention such modifications as shall occur to those skilled in the art and within the scope of the appended claims.

l claim:

l. A closure member for containers which comprises an outer cap member having a depending cylindrical flange portion, an inner member concentric therewith 4and spaced therefrom and being rotatably positioned within said outer cap member, said inner member having a plurality of depending arms attached thereto, a channeled cam member attached to each arm for pivotal movement about a vertical axis, the channel thereof facing the inside Wall of the cylindrical flange portion and the cam portion extending radially inwardly, said channeled cam members being spaced circumferentially to dene an opening into which the neck of the container may be inserted, a rotary bearing positioned in each'channeled cam member between the cam portion and the depending flange to provide rolling bearing contact between the back of the cam portion and the outer cap, a gasket member a-fxed Within the innermember adapted to enprises an outer cap member having a depending cylindrical flange portion, an inner member concentric therewith and spaced therefrom andv having a peaked central portion axially engaging the top of said outer cap member and a plurality of depending arms attached thereto, a channeled cam member attached to each arm for pivotal movement about a vertical axis, the channel thereof facing the inside wall of the cylindrical ange portion and the cam portion extending radially inwardly, said channeled cam members being spaced circumferentially to define an opening into which the neck of the container may be inserted, a rotary bearing positioned in each channeled cam member between the cam portion and the depending flange to provide rolling bearing contact between the back of the cam portion and the outer cap, a gasket member aiiixed within the inner member adapted to engage the top of the container when the closure is inserted thereover and to hold the inner member against rotation while a rotary movement is imparted to the outer cap member to cause the rotarybearings to ride in the channels of the channeled cam members and force the cam portions inwardly to engage the neck of the container.

3. A closure member for containers comprising an outer cap member having a depending cylindrical liange portion, an inner member concentric therewith and spaced therefrom and mounted for relative rotational movement with respectA to the outer cap member, a plurality of 6 circumferentially spaced arms depending from said inner member in substantially parallel relation to the flange portion of the outer cap member, a channeled arcuate arm for each of said depending arms having a free pivotal attachment therewith permitting said arms to be' pivoted about vertical axes, said arcuate arms having their channels facing the flange of the outer cap and being spaced circumferentially to define an opening into which the neck of a container may be inserted, a gasket member positioned within the inner member and adapted to engage the top of a container and hold the inner member against rotation when a rotary movement is imparted to the outer cap member. and means residing within the channels of said arms and movable with the outer cap member upon rotative movement of said cap member to cam said arcuate arms inwardly to engage the neck of a container.

CURTIS M. KOSTER.

REFERENCE S CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 848,174 Jebsen Mar. 26, 1907 879,946 Cordes Feb. 25, 1908 886,619 Lundquist May 5, 1908 1,049,625 Weissenthanner Jan. 7, 1913 1,425,237 Carlson Aug. 8, 1922 1,609,453 Atwood Dec. 7, 1926 2,054,034 Conner et al. Sept. 8, 1936 '2,359,639 Hanahan Oct. 3, 1944 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 5,944 Great Britain 1882 202,215 Switzerland Apr. 1, 1939 483,658 Great Britain Apr. 22, 1938 

